Louder, I Can't Hear You

The next morning, Ren Suo and the others changed into their uniforms in the dormitory—not the camouflage uniforms used for military training, but a combination of gray trousers and gray vests, looking like an inferior version of the black vest—then went to the dining hall for breakfast. After eating, they returned to gather in front of the Dormitory Building and count off.

"1!" "2!" "3!"...

After the thirty of them counted off once, Zhao Jingzhong said in a booming voice, "Too quiet. Still not awake? Again!"

"1!" "2!" "3!"...

"Louder, I can't hear you!"

"1!" "2!" "3!"...

After the third count, Zhao Jingzhong was finally satisfied and led them to a large training field within the intensive training base.

There were already many groups scattered around the field. Some were teams of civil servants, while others were soldiers training alone. Ren Suo estimated that the track was about a kilometer long, and their first training assignment was precisely a one-kilometer run!

Ren Suo and the others weren't afraid of that. Civil servant recruits had to undergo physical fitness tests anyway, and though their builds varied greatly, running one kilometer wasn't much of a problem.

However, Zhao Jingzhong said they would not be running normally. They had to cultivate while running!

"This sports field isn't an ordinary sports field. It has a track, a football pitch, grass, goalposts, and people even playing football inside it... but it isn't ordinary," Zhao Jingzhong said. "This is a cultivation area professionally arranged to be especially rich in spiritual energy!"

"I can't reveal the specific techniques, but the spiritual energy in this field is three times denser than in other environments. Cultivating here will let you achieve twice the result with half the effort and enter the proper state more quickly. There are six such fields in the intensive training base, specially meant for cultivation."

Someone asked, "Instructor, this field doesn't have a cover. Won't the spiritual energy escape?"

"It won't," Zhao Jingzhong said, apparently having received professional training and knowing students would ask such questions. The answer came almost without thought. "Spiritual energy is simply what we call it. It isn't a gas. It is invisible energy that fills the entire universe. It does not disperse or gather because of material structures."

"Instructor, where has the densest spiritual energy?"

"Instructor, at what exact location does the spiritual energy start surging? At the edge of the track? One meter outside the edge? Two meters?"

"Instructor..."

Zhao Jingzhong finally lost his patience and snapped, "Stop asking! I'm about to explain the cultivation method. If you don't hear it, I won't repeat it a second time! You—"

The scene quickly fell silent. Zhao Jingzhong was quite satisfied and said, "This is the most basic cultivation method. First, you must be in this kind of..."

"Louder, I can't hear you!"

Zhao Jingzhong instantly fell silent, then roared, "Who said that?! Step forward!"

No one spoke. Zhao Jingzhong swept his gaze around, inwardly shocked—he hadn't seen anyone speak just now. Moreover, the voice had not come from among the students, but from above them.

Yet without question, the person who said it was among the students. Zhao Jingzhong simply hadn't discovered who it was, and that was what angered him most. He was among the first batch of internal-test soldiers transferred from the military to the National Security Bureau. He had served as a Class Monitor in the army and still carried military habits with him. He particularly couldn't stand such confrontations and deliberate defiance of superiors.

"I'll say it again. Step forward immediately!"

Zhao Jingzhong waited three seconds. When no one came forward, his expression turned icy as he shouted, "All of you, get ready for push-ups!"

The students looked at one another. Some obediently got down and prepared, but others had no intention of accepting it, such as the proud and arrogant Jie Qiansi. "Why?"

"Why? Because someone among you is causing trouble and refuses to step forward to admit their mistake, so all of you will be punished!"

"Why should everyone be punished?" Jie Qiansi shot back. He was not some university student sheltered in an ivory tower. Because of his family background, he had seen plenty of the world. "You can't find the troublemaker because of your own incompetence, so you take it out on all of us? Who do you think you are?"

Zhao Jingzhong looked coldly at Jie Qiansi. "Because you are a collective!"

"A collective? Don't bring that soldier nonsense here." Jie Qiansi scoffed. "We only met yesterday. I don't even know all their names, much less recognize every face, and you're calling us a collective? Aren't you part of our collective too? Then why aren't you doing it?"

"In five days, we'll all go our separate ways and contribute to Xuan Kingdom's moderately prosperous society. We came here to learn, not to watch you embarrass yourself and vent your anger on us!"

"Besides, Xuan Kingdom has been reforming and opening up for decades. You still want to return to feudal society and practice collective punishment? Either find the person who offended you yourself, or conduct the class properly! We are not your soldiers and don't have to follow your rules. If someone here committed murder, would you have all of us shot too?"

Jie Qiansi naturally felt extremely satisfied after that barrage of words, and the key was that he was right—why should everyone be punished? No normal person wanted to be implicated by someone else's mistake. If they were colleagues, comrades, or acquaintances, perhaps one could call it "covering up," but they barely knew one another. They didn't even know each other's names, had no idea who had done it, and naturally had no desire to shoulder responsibility.

Jie Qiansi had carefully considered those words before saying them. He had accurately struck at the heart of the issue, placing himself on the side of the broadest possible public and building prestige. Although the "WeChat group" was temporarily useless, Jie Qiansi knew that once these people left, they would all prosper in their respective places. Befriending the others now and joining them against such unreasonable behavior was equivalent to forming the friendship of comrades.

Most importantly, Jie Qiansi was certain that Zhao Jingzhong would eventually teach them how to cultivate. Otherwise, if Jie Qiansi reported this matter, Zhao Jingzhong definitely wouldn't be able to keep his position.

However, Jie Qiansi still failed to fully understand the mindset of these former soldiers—Zhao Jingzhong's face darkened, and he actually attacked him directly!

"I think you look exactly like that little bastard who caused the trouble!"

Zhao Jingzhong was incredibly fast, his iron hands cutting through the air with force. Jie Qiansi was a young Young Master. Though he went to the gym from time to time, he definitely wasn't good at fighting. Faced with Zhao Jingzhong's attack, he didn't even have time to retreat.

However, two pairs of hands suddenly reached out from beside him. On the left, two fists accurately struck Zhao Jingzhong's elbows, then twisted and pressed down to restrain his attack. On the right, two palms landed on Zhao Jingzhong's shoulders, looking almost like a casual arm-over-the-shoulder gesture.

"Instructor, there's no need to fight, is there?" Ren Suo said with a chuckle. "They're only push-ups. We'll do them."

"That's right." Zhao Huo, who was holding down Zhao Jingzhong's shoulders, also smiled. "We'll talk him down and keep him from speaking recklessly."

Zhao Jingzhong gave them a deep look, forcefully shook free of their hands, and snorted as he walked back.

Ren Suo secretly wiped away a cold sweat. Before coming here, to prepare for unexpected circumstances—or perhaps simply because he did not want to waste it—he had equipped Introduction to Fighting. When he saw Zhao Jingzhong moving to attack Jie Qiansi, Ren Suo had taken action on his own initiative.

For one thing, although Jie Qiansi was flashy and power-hungry, he had done well socially—last night, he had bought plenty of food from the supermarket for his roommates to share. For another, Ren Suo wanted to see just how effective Introduction to Fighting could be.

The result was quite good. Zhao Jingzhong had not used any "special skills," but he clearly looked like a veteran soldier, and his combat ability was surely above average among ordinary people. Ren Suo had been able to catch him off guard and restrain him, which was enough to show that Ren Suo's fighting ability had basically reached the level of a veteran soldier.

He had also made a name for himself in the process. After all, Zhao Jingzhong was no ordinary person, but a Transcendent responsible for teaching them. Ren Suo had restrained him in a single move, enough to make everyone else view him differently.

Zhao Huo did not seem weak either. He might also be a martial artist with some experience. Ren Suo had no idea which of them was stronger. It seemed that none of those selected were easy to deal with.

Qiao Muyi and Li Qingxuan were watching from nearby, so Ren Suo turned and smiled at them. Their favorability should have gone up by one, right?

"What you said makes sense," Zhao Jingzhong said, seemingly letting the matter drop as he spoke calmly. "Then let's begin the formal training."

"Listen carefully. This cultivation formula is only effective if you perform the breathing exercises while running. The breathing method must be followed strictly, and you may stop only after completing sixty-four cycles. Any disruption along the way will make all previous effort go to waste."

"Each breathing exercise is a breath. A long breath requires extremely slow breathing, while a short breath is completed within one second. The specific sequence is: three long, one short, two long, three short..."

"If the breathing exercise is successfully performed, the spiritual energy in the air will be drawn into your bodies. Completing one circulation of breathing counts as one cultivation session. After cultivating dozens of times, you should basically be able to generate your own 'energy vortex.'"

Zhao Jingzhong explained the breathing method three times, then pointed at the track. "All right, start practicing now."

"One more thing," Zhao Jingzhong added, as if remembering something. "Although your constitutions all possess talent, if you still cannot form an energy vortex within five days, that will mean your talent is nothing special..."